Let's put it in a few words: this game (known as Crafton et Xunk to
French readers) is one of the very best for the CPC. You're Crafton, an android
who tries to escape from an experimental project. You must obtain a code to open
the door to the outside. In the building, there are eight scientists, each of
whom has a part of the code. You'll be helped by Xunk, a podocephalus (i.e. a
foot with a brain on top of it!), who calls you when he has found something
interesting, and occasionally helps you to jump over obstacles (and aliens).
There are too many great and hilarious things in this game for me to detail
here. The graphics are colourful and well designed, and the sounds fit the
action perfectly. It's funny, clever, and great!

Save New York and the entire world from a disaster of biblical proportions in
this spin-off from the hit film. Ghosts are converging on the evil Temple of
Zuul, and the only way to stop them is by forming your own ghostbusting
franchise with which you must make more money than you started with. Only after
this and much ghost killing can you reach the final confrontation at the top of
the temple. This is quite a poor game with crude graphics and annoying gameplay,
and although the music (including speech) is good, it is nothing more than an
excuse to cash in on the film.

Pretty closely based on the movie of the same name, Ghostbusters II has
some of the best graphics and sound you'll ever see or hear on the CPC. From the
intro screen to the digitised scenes straight from the movie to the gorgeous
levels, the graphics are simply awesome, and the spooky sound effects and
spot-on version of the Ghostbusters theme tune complement the graphics nicely.
There are only three levels, which is disappointing, but the sheer difficulty of
the first level, which sees you descending down a manhole to investigate a river
of slime, means you'll have to be a gaming god to see the other two levels –
which are awesome. All in all, a great game in all respects except the stupid
difficulty of the first level!

Nightmare Mansion is well-named; it's home to some of the scariest creatures and
monsters you can imagine! You're a macho muscle man who's been sent out to
rescue your brother Buster from the mansion, but the mansion is too frightening
even for you. Exploring the mansion reveals objects which you need to collect to
gain access to other rooms, and you must also shoot any monsters which appear,
otherwise the 'terrometer' will increase and you'll lose energy fast. It's not
easy to get the hang of the game initially, but stick with it and you might well
like it.

This is a straightforward platform game that sees you, as a knight, fighting off
numerous ghosts, zombies and other monsters. The first level is set in a
graveyard, where you have to jump over gravestones and several rivers. The
second level sees you on a ship, with more platform jumping involved, and the
third level is in a dark cave. After that, the levels start repeating. This game
really hasn't stood the test of time well. The graphics are fairly basic, the
concept is unoriginal, the collision detection is poor, and above all else, it's
too hard.

This is a remake of the original version of Ghosts'n Goblins. Despite the
game being considered a decent port of the coin-op at the time of its release
back in 1986, this remake goes one step further. First of all, it has a very
smooth frame rate and it features hardware sprites. The sound is pretty good and
the playability is high. It is clearly a game that uses the Plus' hardware in an
efficient way. Everything looks arcade-like and overall it is a remarkable game,
as well as a reminder that the Plus and GX4000 machines might have been more
successful if more programmers back in the day had exploited their enhanced
features.

This is essentially Pac-Man transformed into a platform game. You are
trapped in a haunted mansion and have to eat all the jewels on the screen before
you can go to the next level. On each level, you may encounter ghouls, moving
platforms, spikes and springs, and you'll also have to jump between platforms.
So why does the game score such a low mark? Well, it's because this is perhaps
the most impossibly difficult game I have ever played. Platforms and spikes are
positioned so that you have to be pixel-perfect when jumping over or between
them. Furthermore, it's very difficult to get into exactly the right position.
This is one of those games that will make you want to smash your computer in a
rage of frustration, and it is best left well alone.

Once again King Arthur must take on and defeat the evil forces in his kingdom in
this, the sequel to Ghosts 'n' Goblins. A simplistic platformer, you jump
around, avoiding obstacles and traps, while shooting the various nefarious
supernatural monsters that come at you from all directions using a variety of
weapons. Large bosses have to be defeated at the end of every level and as
before, you only have your set of knight's armour and your pants to protect you!
It looks only slightly nicer than its prequel but it lacks that game's excellent
music and original gameplay. If anything, it's not the conversion of this game
that makes it poor but the actual arcade original itself.

Secret documents belonging to NATO have been stolen by another country, and you
have been parachuted into the jungles of that country, along with Killer, your
dog. However, you have become separated from Killer, so you must find him first,
and then you need to find the heavily armed enemy camp and the helicopter base.
You also have a cypher which receives satellite communications, and a torch for
seeing in the caves, and you'll need to pick up magazines to refill your gun.
Most of your time is spent trudging around the jungles and the underground
caves, and shooting any soldiers that cross your path, and before long, the game
becomes boring. Furthermore, it's an ugly Spectrum port, and the text is
littered with spelling mistakes.

Four pieces of Gilbert's dustbin have been scattered across his home city on
the planet of Drill, and if he can't find them all within the time limit, he
won't be able to travel to Earth to sign a new contract for his TV show. To
find the parts, you must find a Milk Bar, go to an arcade cabinet and play a
mini-game; if you win, you'll get a clue to the location of one of the parts.
You can shoot aliens by firing snot at them (yuk!), and if you shoot enough
aliens on a screen, a Hoverjelly will appear; shooting it allows you to collect
either a tin of beans (allowing you to float – guess how!) or a slice of cake
(which cancels the floating effect). However, some of the mini-games are very
difficult to complete and rely more on luck than skill, and unless you win, the
parts won't appear. The Spectrum-like graphics also reduce the game's appeal,
although the music is quite good.